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Lee Hendrie believes Birmingham City should sign Lewis O'Brien this summer

Birmingham City recently entered the race for Nottingham Forest midfielder Lewis O’Brien’s signature this summer.

According to Alan Nixon via Patreon, Blues have joined the likes of Hull City, Preston North End, Swansea City and Southampton in the hunt for O’Brien.

The 26-year-old spent the second half of last season on loan with the Swans and instantly became one of the Welsh outfit’s standout performers.

With so many teams keen on signing the midfielder this summer, it will likely take a significant offer to secure the former Huddersfield Town star’s services.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Sky Sports pundit and former Aston Villa midfielder, Lee Hendrie, believes that O’Brien would be a fantastic coup for Chris Davies’ side.

Birmingham advised to secure Lewis O’Brien signing

“I think Lewis O’Brien is a fantastic player,” stated Hendrie.

“I know that he's had injuries and hasn't had a huge amount of game time, but I always felt when he was playing in the Championship that he could go and make that step up.

“Birmingham City are obviously a club that are certainly on the up and they are linked to lot of players.

“They're bringing players in and I think he would be a really, really good signing for Blues because I know he's got quality and he knows what the Championship's is all about, which makes him a solid addition.”

Lewis O’Brien would be a brilliant addition for Birmingham

Birmingham arrive back in the Championship with huge hype surrounding the club, given their record-breaking romp to the League One title.

Coupled with their ambitious ownership model, expectations are unusually high for a side promoted from the third-tier.

That said, Davies and Co. will hope to enjoy the pressure, harness it and do all they can to fight for promotion next term.

Acquiring the likes of O’Brien would be a surefire way of guaranteeing second-tier quality within the squad, which is exactly what Birmingham will need to fight at the top.

Players such as Demarai Gray and Kyogo Furuhashi have been linked with moves to St. Andrew’s this summer and with O’Brien now added to that mix, the Blues are making their ambitious intention for next season crystal clear.

It wasn’t too long ago that the 26-year-old was ripping it up for Huddersfield at the top of the Championship and if given a prevalent role surrounded by similarly talented stars, could enjoy that form once more under Davies.

If Birmingham are to spend handsomely this summer, they must do it on guaranteed talent such as O’Brien to succeed next term.